graduate programs in computational science · the graduate programs in computational science o ered...

Graduate Programs in Computational Science

Florida State University

August, 2009

Graduate Student Handbook

Contents

1 Graduate Study in Computational Science 4

2 Graduate Degrees in Computational Science 42.1 Master’s Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2 Ph.D. in Computational Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.3 Major codes for Graduate Programs in Computational Science . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Admissions 63.1 Application Procedure for Students Outside FSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.2 Transferring from Another Graduate Program at FSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.3 Continuation to the Ph.D. in Computational Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4 Computational Science Courses 8

5 Degree Requirements 85.1 Requirements for M.S. Degree in Computational Science . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.1.1 Types of Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.1.2 Major Professor and Supervisory Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.1.3 Program of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.1.4 Foreign Language Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105.1.5 Minimum GPA Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105.1.6 Thesis/Project/Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105.1.7 Time Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5.2 Requirements for Professional Science Master’s Degree in Computational Science 115.2.1 Major Professor and Supervisory Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.2.2 Program of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125.2.3 Summer Internship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.2.4 Foreign Language Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.2.5 Minimum GPA Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.2.6 Project/Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.2.7 Time Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5.3 Requirements for Ph.D. Degree in Computational Science . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.3.1 Major Professor and Doctoral Supervisory Committee . . . . . . . . . 145.3.2 Program of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145.3.3 Foreign Language Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.3.4 Preliminary Examination Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.3.5 Admission to Candidacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165.3.6 Minimum GPA Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165.3.7 Prospectus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165.3.8 Dissertation/Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165.3.9 Time Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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6 Financial Issues 176.1 Assistantships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176.2 Tuition Waivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6.2.1 Florida Residency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.3 Summer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.4 Fellowships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.5 Health Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

7 Registration 19

8 Evaluations 198.1 Annual Progress Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198.2 Satisfactory Progress Towards the Degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

8.2.1 Students in Master’s Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208.2.2 Ph.D. Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

8.3 Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

9 English Competency 21

10 Graduation 21

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1 Graduate Study in Computational Science

Over the last few decades, computations have joined theory and experimentation to form thethree pillars of scientific discovery and technological design. Moreover, in many cases scientificcomputations have superseded both theory and experimentation. Thus, whether one is studyingsub-atomic particles or galaxies, whether one is designing minute nano-composites or hugeskyscrapers, whether one is sequencing the human genome or protecting fragile ecosystems,whether one is studying the flow of blood in capillaries or predicting the winds in a hurricane,computations play a central role. The computations that enable these and a myriad of otherstudies depend on the invention, implementation, and testing of algorithms and software thatcomputers use to solve scientific and engineering problems. This is the work of computationalscientists.

The high national priority of computational science is amply illustrated by the fact that thePresident’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) in 2003 chose it, along withhealth care information technology and cyber security, as the three areas of greatest national im-portance related to information technology. The Committee’s June 2005 report ComputationalScience: Ensuring America’s Competitiveness has the following conclusion.

“The most scientifically important and economically promising research frontiers inthe 21st century will be conquered by those most skilled with advanced computingtechnologies and computational science applications.”

The graduate programs in computational science offered by FSU’s Department of ScientificComputing (DSC) are committed to training computational scientists through an innovativecurriculum and an interdisciplinary research environment. The computational science coursesare designed to function across disciplines rather than within a single discipline. The facultyof the DSC is truly interdisciplinary, today consisting of physicists, biologists, geophysicists,biochemists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists, with an even broader spectrumof interests to be represented in the future. The DSC faculty is also collectively bound by onecommon interest: developing better computational tools. It is very fortunate that computationalalgorithms are very ecumenical in nature; a method that solves a problem in one discipline moreoften than not can also be used in several other disciplines. It is this synergy between disciplinesthat is being exploited by the DSC in its research programs. Thus, the DSC is ideally positionedto establish an innovative graduate degree programs in computational science that imparts thissame synergy to its students.

This computational science program cuts across departments, concentrating on the sub-disciplines that are common to all: programming, algorithm development, analysis and imple-mentation, visualization, statistics, etc. The program strives to provide students with knowledgein various disciplines while obtaining depth in at least one area. In this way the computationalscientist can also serve as a translator between domain experts who have most of their knowledgein a single field as well as a conduit to transfer technology from one discipline to another.

2 Graduate Degrees in Computational Science

The DSC offers two programs at the master’s level and a Ph.D. in computational science.Specifically, the programs are

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• M.S. in computational science

• Professional Science Master’s (PSM)

• Ph.D. in computational science.

2.1 Master’s Programs

The M.S. degree in computational science provides two main tracks for students. The first pathis typically taken by students who are seeking a Ph.D. in computational science and also wantto complete the M.S. requirements. The second path is a professional degree program whichgives the student the opportunity to acquire professional skills such as project managementin addition to the training in computational science. Hands-on experience through a summerinternship program allows the professional master’s student to integrate material learned throughcoursework with problems of interest to industry and government agencies. Both programsrequire the same core coursework in computational science.

The PSM program allows the student the option to follow the major track which emphasizesthe mathematical and computer science aspects or to specialize their studies in computationalmethods for bioinformatics.

2.2 Ph.D. in Computational Science

The goal of the Ph.D. program in Computational Science is to train graduate students to haveextensive knowledge in computational science and to give the student the opportunity to acquireexpertise in a particular area of science or engineering. Thus the degree provides the student withbreadth as well as depth. Graduates should be able to successfully collaborate with scientistsin other disciplines. Ideally, students should learn to develop and analyze new computationalprocedures which can be utilized in a variety of fields.

Based on the current expertise in DSC, the following tracks are available:

• Ph.D. in Computational Science (major track1)

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Atmospheric Science

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Biochemistry

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Biological Science

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Geological Sciences

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Materials Science

• Ph.D. in Computational Science with a Specialization in Physics

If the student chooses one of the tracks then his/her diploma will reflect this; for example ifthe specialization in Geological Sciences is chosen then the student’s diploma will indicate a itPh.D. in Computational Science - Geological Sciences.

1emphasizing the mathematical, statistical, and computer science aspects of computational science

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2.3 Major codes for Graduate Programs in Computational Science

The following major codes have been assigned to the graduate programs in computationalscience. These codes are necessary for completion of many Univesity forms. The CIP code forthe Ph.D. degree is 30.0801.

Master’s ProgramsComputational Science (Major Track) 114010PSM in Computational Science 114011PSM in Computational Science -

Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics 114012

Ph.D. ProgramsComputational Science (Major Track) 114010Computational Science (Atmospheric Science) 114020Computational Science (Biochemistry) 114021Computational Science (Biological Science) 114022Computational Science (Geological Sciences) 114023Computational Science (Materials Science) 114024Computational Science (Physics) 114025

3 Admissions

All students entering this degree program should have a strong desire to do computationalscience and have experience in at least one programming language.2 Students typically possessan undergraduate degree in computer science, computational science, mathematics, statistics,a science or engineering. The University requires the general GRE examination.

3.1 Application Procedure for Students Outside FSU

For students outside of the University who want to apply to the graduate program in computa-tional science a student needs to (i) apply to DSC and (ii) apply to FSU. The procedure is asfollows:

Departmental application process:

• complete the departmental on-line application

• send at least three letters of recommendation to the DSC Associate Chair for GraduateStudies ([email protected])

• send a statement of purpose.

FSU application process:

• complete the FSU application;

2Typically students are required to have a working knowledge of C/C++, Fortran 90 or Java.

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• pay FSU application fee;

• have sent to FSU official copies of transcripts from all institutions attended;

• have official copy of GRE examination sent;

• have official TOEFL scores sent (international applicants only).

The DSC can only recommend admission to the Graduate Admissions Office; the officialletter of admission comes from the University. However, the DSC Associate Chair for GraduateStudies will notify students of their recommendation for admission and will also notify thestudent of any offers of an assistantship.

3.2 Transferring from Another Graduate Program at FSU

Students who are currently completing another graduate program (such as a Master’s program)at FSU may simply reapply to the FSU Graduate Admissions Office for the computational scienceprogram.

Students who are currently enrolled in another graduate program at FSU but are notcompleting a degree in that program, should complete a transfer form which can be obtainedfrom the DSC Associate Chair for Graduate Studies or the FSU Graduate Admissions office.This form must be approved by the DSC, the student’s current program and the Dean of Artsand Sciences. Transfer of students from other programs is limited to those students who canjustify that their interests are a better fit in computational science than in their current program.

3.3 Continuation to the Ph.D. in Computational Science

Students who hold only an undergraduate degree are typically admitted into the M.S. programin computational science even if their ultimate goal is a Ph.D. This allows the student theopportunity to make sure that the graduate program fits their interests and allows DSC toevaluate their ability to get a Ph.D. in computational science. After two years of graduate study,the student can make a more informed decision whether he/she desires to get a Ph.D. If thisis no longer the student’s goal, then he/she can easily complete the M.S. degree requirementsand leave with this degree. If a Ph.D. is desired then the student has two options for beingadmitted into the Ph.D. program.

Students in the M.S. program who have maintained at least a 3.2 GPA, have a majorprofessor and have passed the preliminary examination by the end of their second year of graduatestudy will automatically be switched into the Ph.D. program at their request. All studentsare encouraged, but not required, to complete an M.S. degree before switching to the Ph.D.program.

Students in the M.S. program who have not passed the preliminary exam by the end oftheir second year of graduate study may apply for the Ph.D. program. These students willbe considered along with all the other applicants for graduate study in computational scienceand for assistantships. These students should complete their M.S. degree requirements beforeentering the Ph.D. program.

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Core Required CoursesISC5305 Scientific Programming 3ISC5315 Applied Computational Science I 4ISC5316 Applied Computational Science II (Ph.D. only) 4

SeminarsISC 5934 Introductory Seminar on Research in Computational Science 1ISC 5939 Advanced Graduate Seminar in Computational Science 1

OtherISC 5948 Graduate Internship in Computational ScienceISC 5975 ThesisISC 6981 DissertationISC 8965 Doctoral Preliminary Exam 0ISC 8977 Master’s Thesis Defense 0ISC 8982 Dissertation Defense 0

4 Computational Science Courses

The DSC uses the prefix ISC for all computational science courses; see the departmental websitefor the current list of approved courses. Listed in the accompanying table are the required corecourses, seminar course numbers, internship course numbers, numbers for thesis and dissertationcredit as well as the courses necessary for defending an M.S. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation. Coursenumbers for elective coursework can be found from the departmental website or the registrar’swebsite. The seminar ISC5934 may be repeated twice; the number of repeats for the seminarISC5939 is unrestricted.

5 Degree Requirements

Graduate degree students in computational science at Florida State University must meet re-quirements specified by

• the Graduate College,

• the Department of Scientific Computing,

• the student’s Supervisory Committee.

The Graduate College degree requirements are published in the Graduate Bulletin whichcan be found online at http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/grad/default.htm. The re-quirements specified by the Department of Scientific Computing are described in this document.Any requirements specified by the student’s Supervisory Committee must be communicated tothe student by completion of the prospectus for a Ph.D. student and for an M.S. student, beforethe beginning of the student’s third academic year semester.

Typically students must complete the requirements that are in effect at the time of ad-mission into the degree program. However, if requirements change during a student’s graduatecareer, he/she may choose to follow the later rules. However, a student must completely follow

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one set of rules; i.e., the student may not “pick and choose” rules from different GraduateHandbooks.

5.1 Requirements for M.S. Degree in Computational Science

5.1.1 Types of Program

The M.S. degree program is structured as a two-year program for full-time students. The studentmust choose between the thesis or non-thesis option for the M.S. degree. The thesis optionrequires the completion of a master’s thesis which includes independent investigation which ispotentially publishable. If the student chooses the thesis option then he/she must meet allUniversity requirements for formating and submitting the document. The non-thesis optionrequires the student to complete a project which does not have to constitute original work.Both options require a minimum of 32 credit hours; for the thesis option the 32 credits include6 credit hours of thesis.

5.1.2 Major Professor and Supervisory Committee

The student’s Supervisory Committee should play an integral role in guiding him/her throughtheir graduate education. By the end of a student’s second academic year semester, the studentshould choose a major professor, i.e., an advisor. The major professor must be an DSC facultymember who has graduate faculty status. In the case of co-advisors, then at least one of theadvisors must be an DSC faculty member with graduate faculty status. If the other co-advisoris not an DSC faculty member, then he/she must hold an appointment to Courtesy faculty rankin Computational Science with graduate faculty status. Upon request of the major professor,a Supervisory Committee will be established which will oversee the Program of Study, monitorthe student’s adherence to graduate policies, evaluate progress towards the degree, and assessthe thesis or final project. The Supervisory Committee must consist of a minimum of threemembers of the graduate faculty including the major professor; the Committee must consist ofa majority of tenured/tenure-track DSC faculty. The student must complete a departmentalform specifying the composition of the Supervisory Committee; it should be completed no laterthan the semester before the student schedules the defense of his/her project or thesis.

Any changes in the Supervisory Committee must be approved by the major professor andthe departmental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.

5.1.3 Program of Study

The Program of Study (POS) is formulated to include all coursework which is necessary tomeet FSU and DSC requirements. As early as possible, and no later than the third semester ofgraduate study at FSU, the student should prepare a POS;3 The POS must be approved by thethe student’s major professor and the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies for DSC; a copy ofthe POS should be kept on file in the DSC. Modifications to the POS must be approved by themajor professor and the Graduate Coordinator and approved no later than the beginning of thesemester of graduation.

3This form and all other DSC forms can be downloaded from the departmental website.

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The POS must include a minimum of 32 credit hours and meet the following minimumcoursework requirements imposed by DSC:

Group A. Core required courses: ISC5305, ISC5315 (7 credit hours on a letter-gradebasis)

Group B. Core elective courses: 9 credit hours of letter-grade coursework with prefix ISCexcluding ISC5305 and ISC5315 and with no more than 3 of the 9 credit hours consistingof graded Directed Individual Study (ISC5906)

Group C. Application courses: 6 credit hours of graduate level courses offered by pro-grams other than computational science; no more than 3 credits may be taken on a nonletter-grade basis

Seminar Requirement. 4 credit hours of seminar (Includes 2 credit hours of ISC5934;ISC5939 or seminars from other departments may be taken for the remainder)

Thesis. 6 credit hours of thesis (ISC5975) if you are choosing the thesis option

Note that if a student has selected the thesis option then these requirements constitutethe 32 credit hours necessary for the degree; if the project option is selected, then an additional6 credit hours of coursework must be taken.

FSU requires that if the student has selected the thesis option then at least 18 of the 32credit hours must be taken on a letter-grade basis. If the non-thesis option is chosen, at least21 of the 32 credit hours must be taken on a letter-grade basis. Both of these requirements areautomatically satisfied by departmental requirements.

If the student’s Supervisory Committee approves a course substitution for any of theserequirements, then this substitution must be approved by the departmental Graduate Committee.

The University allows a maximum of 6 hours of semester credit as transfer credit fromanother accredited graduate school as long as the hours are not counted toward a previousdegree. Transfer of credit not counted towards a previous degree within FSU is limited to 12credit hours.

5.1.4 Foreign Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement for the M.S. in computational science.

5.1.5 Minimum GPA Requirement

The student must maintain an average GPA of at least 3.0 in all coursework contained in theProgram of Study.

5.1.6 Thesis/Project/Graduation

The student is required to submit all forms and meet all deadlines required by the FSU GraduateSchool; these forms and a checklist can be found at The Graduate School’s Blackboard sitesunder the “Theses, Treatises, Dissertations” submenu. The student must register for the zerocredit thesis defense (ISC 8977) during the semester he/she defends the thesis.

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The thesis is the evidence that the student has successfully completed an independentinquiry which is potentially publishable. The student must defend the thesis to the SupervisoryCommittee. A prospectus is not required for a thesis.

The manuscript for the thesis must be prepared using the formatting guidelines preparedby the FSU Graduate School which can also be found on Blackboard. The student is stronglyurged to completed a workshop for preparation of the thesis offered by The Graduate School.The manuscript must be submitted to the Supervisory Committee at least 10 days before thedate set for the exam.

The project is the evidence that the student can communicate a topic in computationalscience in both a written and oral manner. The student must defend the project to the Super-visory Committee. A prospectus is not required for the project. The written description of theproject must be submitted to the Supervisory Committee at least 10 days before the date setfor the exam.

The University requires students to be registered for two credit hours during the semesterhe/she graduates. If a student does not meet the deadlines for the semester in which he/she hasregistered for graduation then the student may defer graduation to the next semester. However,if a student does not meet the graduation deadlines but defends and submits all paperworkbefore the start of the next semester, then he/she can request an exception to the requirementof registering for two credits.

5.1.7 Time Limitations

The Graduate College imposes the condition that all requirements for the master’s degree becompleted within seven calendar years from the time the student first registers for graduatecredit.

5.2 Requirements for Professional Science Master’s Degree in ComputationalScience

The Professional Science Master’s degree program is structured as a two-year program for full-time students. There is no thesis option but all students must complete a project and aninternship.

5.2.1 Major Professor and Supervisory Committee

The student’s Supervisory Committee should play an integral role in guiding him/her throughtheir graduate education. By the end of a student’s second academic year semester, the studentshould choose a major professor, i.e., an advisor. The major professor must be an DSC facultymember who has graduate faculty status. In the case of co-advisors, then at least one of theadvisors must be an DSC faculty member with graduate faculty status. If the other co-advisor isnot an DSC faculty member, then he/she must hold an appointment to Courtesy faculty rank inComputational Science with graduate co-directive status. Upon request of the major professor,a Supervisory Committee will be established which will oversee the Program of Study, monitorthe student’s adherence to graduate policies, evaluate progress towards the degree, and assessthe thesis or final project. The Supervisory Committee must consist of a minimum of threemembers of the graduate faculty including the major professor; the Committee must consist of

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a majority of tenured/tenure-track DSC faculty. The student must complete a departmentalform specifying the composition of the Supervisory Committee; it should be completed no laterthan the semester before the student schedules the defense of his/her project or thesis.



The Program of Study (POS) is formulated to include all coursework which is necessary tomeet FSU and departmental requirements. As early as possible, and no later than the thirdsemester of graduate study at FSU, the student should prepare a POS; the appropriate form canbe downloaded from the departmental website. The POS must be approved by the the majorprofessor and the departmental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies; a copy of the POS mustbe kept on file in the DSC. Modifications to the POS must be approved by the major professorand the departmental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and submitted no later than onesemester before graduation.

The POS must include a minimum of 36 credit hours and meet the following minimumrequirements imposed by DSC:

Group A. Core required courses: ISC5305, ISC5315 (7 credit hours)

Group B. Core elective courses: 9 credit hours of coursework with prefix ISC excludingISC5305 and ISC5315 and with no more than 3 of the 9 credit hours consisting of letter-grade based Directed Individual Study (ISC5906)

Group C. Applications courses: 6 credit hours of graduate level courses offered byprograms other than computational science; at least 3 of these credits are to be taken ona letter-grade basis

Seminar requirement. 2 credit hours of seminar (ISC5934)

Group D. Professional skills courses: 6 credits hours of approved management or relatedcourses

Internship. 6 credit hours of internship credit (ISC5948)

At least 21 of the 36 credit hours must be taken on a letter-grade basis.In addition, if the student is following a track other than the major track, then he/she

must complete a total of 6 credit hours in that area; these courses must be approved by theSupervisory Committee and may also serve to satisfy the Group C requirements listed above.

If the Supervisory Committee approves a course substitution for any of these requirements,then this substitution must be approved by the DSC Graduate Committee.

The University allows a maximum of 6 hours of semester credit as transfer credit fromanother accredited graduate school as long as the hours are not counted toward a previousdegree. Transfer of credit not counted towards a previous degree within FSU is limited to 12credit hours.

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5.2.3 Summer Internship

The PSM degree requires an internship which is typically done between the student’s first andsecond academic years of study. The internship is typically done in industry or a laboratoryoff-campus but an equivalent on-campus experience may be substituted with the approval ofthe student’s supervisory committee and the departmental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.The student is required to register for ISC5948 during his/her internship. Typically, the student’sfinal project will arise from work during his/her internship.


There is no foreign language requirement for the PSM in computational science.



5.2.6 Project/Graduation

The student is required to submit all forms and meet all deadlines required by the FSU GraduateSchool; these forms and a checklist can be found at The Graduate School’s Blackboard sites.

The project is the evidence that the student can communicate a topic in computationalscience in both a written and oral manner. The student must defend the project to the Super-visory Committee. A prospectus is not required for the project. The written description of theproject must be submitted to the Supervisory Committee at least 10 days before the date setfor the exam. There are no formal guidelines for the preparation of this document.

The University requires students to be registered for two credit hours during the semesterhe/she graduates. If a student does not meet the deadlines for the semester in which he/she hasregistered for graduation then the student may defer graduation to the next semester. However,if a student does not meet the graduation deadlines but defends and submits all paperworkbefore the start of the next semester, then he/she can request an exception to the requirementof registering for two credits.


The Graduate College imposes the condition that all requirements for the master’s degree becompleted within seven calendar years from the time the student first registers for graduatecredit.

5.3 Requirements for Ph.D. Degree in Computational Science

For the Ph.D. degree the student can choose to follow the major track which emphasizesthe mathematical and computer science aspects of computational science or follow one of theapplication tracks in science or engineering listed in Section 2.

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5.3.1 Major Professor and Doctoral Supervisory Committee

The student’s Major Professor and Supervisory Committee should play an integral role in guidinghim/her through their graduate education. The major professor should be chosen based uponmutual research interests. It is to the student’s advantage to choose an advisor as early aspossible. However, no later than the third semester, the student should choose a major professor,i.e., an advisor. The major professor must have doctoral directive status and have competencyin the area of the student’s research for the dissertation. Upon request of the major professor,a Supervisory Committee will be established which will oversee the student’s Program of Study,monitor adherence to graduate policies, evaluate progress towards the degree, and assess whetherthe student’s research constitutes a significant contribution to the area of computational science;this committee should be established as soon as possible and prior to the Prospectus. TheSupervisory Committee must consist of a minimum of five members of the graduate facultyincluding the major professor; the Committee must consist of a majority of tenured/tenure-track DSC faculty. The major professor must be a member of the DSC faculty and haveDoctoral Directive Status; in the case where there are co-advisors, at least one of the two majoradvisors must be a member of the DSC faculty. If a co-advisor is not an DSC faculty member,then he/she must hold an appointment to Courtesy faculty rank in Computational Science withdoctoral co-directive status. One faculty member must be drawn from outside of DSC; if astudent is following a track leading to a specialization in a particular area, then the facultymember outside of DSC must be drawn from that area. The composition of the SupervisoryCommittee must be established via the appropriate form; this form must be on file at the timethe prospectus defense is scheduled.



The Program of Study (POS) is formulated to include all coursework which is required to meetFSU and DSC requirements as well as coursework necessary to gain knowledge in the student’schosen research area. As early as possible, and no later than the end of the third semester ofgraduate study at FSU, the student should prepare a POS; see the departmental website forthe appropriate form. This should be done in conjunction with the major professor. The POSmust be approved by the major professor and the departmental Associate Chair for GraduateStudies; a copy of the POS must be kept on file in the DSC. Modifications to the POS must beapproved by the student’s major professor and the departmental Associate Chair for GraduateStudies and submitted no later than one semester before graduation.

The POS must meet the following minimum coursework requirements imposed by DSC orthe Graduate College:

Group A. Core required courses: ISC5305, ISC5315, ISC5316 (11 credit hours)

Group B. Core elective courses: 12 credit hours of letter-based coursework with prefixISC excluding ISC5305, ISC5315, ISC5316 and with no more than 3 of the 12 credit hoursconsisting of letter-grade based Directed Individual Study (ISC5906)

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Group C. Applications courses: 9 credit hours of graduate level courses offered byprograms other than computational science; at least 6 credits must be taken on a letter-grade basis

Seminar requirement. 6 seminar credit hours (ISC5934, ISC5939 or seminar creditsfrom another department)

Dissertation requirement. 24 credit hours of dissertation

In addition, if the student is following a track (or area of specialization) then he/she mustcomplete a total of 9 credit hours in that area; these courses must be approved by the SupervisoryCommittee and may also serve to satisfy requirement the Group C requirements listed above.

If the Supervisory Committee approves a course substitution for any of these requirements,then this substitution must be approved by the DSC Graduate Committee.

When planning the graduate program, the student should be aware of the university res-idency requirement which states that “after having finished thirty semester hours of graduatework or being awarded the master’s degree, the student must be continuously enrolled on TheFlorida State University Tallahassee campus for a minimum of twenty-four graduate semesterhours of credit in any period of 12 consecutive months.” In addition to residency this require-ment implicitly implies a minimum of 54 credit hours (including dissertation hours) for receivinga Ph.D. after completion of an undergraduate degree.


There is no foreign language requirement for a Ph.D. in computational science.

5.3.4 Preliminary Examination Requirement

Satisfactory completion of a preliminary examination is required for admission to candidacy fora Ph.D. degree. The preliminary examination is typically taken after three semesters of graduatestudy and covers material from the required core courses (Group A) plus another area (fromGroup B or Group C) chosen by the student in conjunction with an Examination Committeeconsisting of the major professor and at least two other graduate faculty who may or may notbe members of the Supervisory Committee. Students must register for the zero credit courseISC 8965 during the semester he/she first takes the exam. Exams are typically scheduled duringthe months of January and August but may be given at other times if the student and theExamination Committee agree. The Examination Committee is responsible for the form andcontent of the examination. The exam consists of a written portion which covers materialrelated to the required core courses; after successful completion of this portion the student thentakes an oral exam covering material from their second area plus a follow-up to the writtenexam. Possible outcomes of the Preliminary Examination are: (i) passed, (ii) conditional passwith additional work to be completed, (iii) failed but can retake one time, (iv) failed (secondattempt) without possibility of retaking the examination. Students will have the option to retakethis examination one time, if it is not successfully completed on the first attempt. Students maynot retake the written exam during the same semester that it was failed.

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If a student changes his/her Major Professor after satisfactorily completing the preliminaryexamination, then his/her new Major Professor has the option to require the student to retakethe oral portion of the preliminary examination.

Students should refer to Section 8 to see the timeline one needs to follow in passing examsso that satisfactory progress towards the degree is made.

5.3.5 Admission to Candidacy

After the student has successfully passed the preliminary examination, an admission to candidacyform must be completed and filed in the Office of the University Registrar. After this form isfiled, the student will be allowed to register for dissertation hours.



5.3.7 Prospectus

After successful completion of the preliminary examination, the student is required to submit anddefend to his/her Supervisory Committee a prospectus. This prospectus provides the SupervisoryCommittee with an outline of a research project as well as a summary of a literature survey inthe student’s chosen research area. The Supervisory Committee will ascertain if successfulcompletion of this project is suitable for awarding a Ph.D in Computational Science. Aftersuccessfully defending the Prospectus, the student must submit to DSC the appropriate signedform.

Typically students will complete the Prospectus shortly after their second year of graduatestudy and always after the successful completion of the Preliminary Examination. Since theprospectus is intended to consist of a literature survey and a research plan rather than a sum-mary of research completed, DSC requires that the Prospectus be completed no later than oneacademic year after successfully passing the preliminary examination. For example, if the pre-liminary examination is passed in the Spring Semester then the Prospectus must be completedby the end of the following Spring Semester.

5.3.8 Dissertation/Graduation

The dissertation is the evidence that the student has successfully produced an original andpublishable body of work. The student must defend the dissertation in an oral examinationadministered by his/her Supervisory Committee. All members of the University community areinvited to attend. The dissertation should be the completion of the research outlined in theprospectus.

The manuscript must be prepared using the formatting guidelines prepared by the Officeof Graduate Students. The University suggests that academic courtesy requires that the disser-tation must be submitted to each member of the Supervisory Committee at least four weeksprior to the date of the examination.

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The student must register for ISC 8982, the zero credit dissertation defense, during thesemester he/she defends. In addition, the student is responsible for completing all forms with theUniversity for announcing the exam, etc. The student is strongly urged to attend a GraduateSchool workshop for preparing dissertations and preparing to graduate. The student shouldremind the outside committee member that after the defense of the dissertation he/she mustsubmit a form reporting whether all university rules were followed.

The University requires that if the student has been admitted to candidacy then he/shemust register for dissertation credits each term in which a substantial amount of work is beingdone on the dissertation. If the student has satisfied all of the coursework requirements and iscompleting the dissertation away from campus, then he/she must meet the University require-ments of registering for a minimum of 2 dissertation credits per semester. See Graduate Bulletinfor details. However, if a student does not meet the graduation deadlines during a semesterbut defends and submits all paperwork before the start of the next semester, then he/she canrequest an exception to the requirement of registering for two credits.


The Graduate College imposes the condition that all requirements for the doctoral degree becompleted within five calendar years from the time the student passes the preliminary examina-tion. If this time limit passes, then the Supervisory Committee can choose to allow the studentto pass a new preliminary examination.

6 Financial Issues

6.1 Assistantships

The DSC offers assistantships in the form of Teaching and Research Assistantships to full-time students. The Teaching Assistantships (TAs) may involve assisting a faculty memberwith his/her course or it may involve hands-on training opportunities in systems and networkadministration. Research assistantships (RAs) are typically funded by an individual facultymember’s grant. The assistantships carry a stipend and a tuition waiver. Typically, assistantshipduties will require 15 hours per week.

Assistantships are offered on an academic year (9 month) basis. Continuation of support iscontingent upon the student making satisfactory progress towards the degree and performing theassistantship duties in a satisfactory and timely manner. The Chair of the DSC makes the finaldecision on assistantship offers with the aid of recommendations from the Graduate Committee.This Committee uses the annual evaluations (see Section 8) to make recommendations.

6.2 Tuition Waivers

To be eligible for a tuition waiver, the student must be enrolled as a full-time student, beappointed as an RA or TA and meet all College eligibility requirements. For any questionsconcerning eligibility, the student should see the departmental Associate Chair for GraduateStudies.

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6.2.1 Florida Residency

Out-of-state domestic students will receive an out-of-state tuition waiver for the first year.During the first year, the student is required to establish Florida as his/her legal residence;consequently, a domestic student will receive a tuition waiver at the in-state rate after the firstyear. It is imperative that an out-of-state student begin this process as soon as he/she arrivesin Florida.

domestic students not granted state resident status at the time of their admission mustpetition for a change of status through the REgistrar’s Office at the end of their first year (usuallyin June). Procedures for reclassification of residency include:

• Evidence of legal ties to the State of Florida;

– Declaration of Domicile (required) obtainable in person from the Clerk of the CircuitCour in the County Court House of the Florida County in which the student claimspermanent domicile. (Small fee required.)

– Copies of drivers license, voters and vehicle registration. Legal ties with a previousstate of residence must be switched to Florida within 30 days of filing your Declarationof Domicile.

• Official confirmatio of a Graduate Assistantship by the department. This form can becompleted by the department.

• Proof of financial independence. In most cases the formal Statement of Independencewill be sufficient.

• Proof of twelve months continuous physical presence in Florida. Documentation mayinclude: Florida lease agreements, utility bills, band records, etc.

• Submit an official application for reclassification of residency, with required documentation,prior to the first day of classes.

6.3 Summer Support

The DSC will attempt to provide summer support as needed as long as funds permit. Studentsoften receive summer support in the form of an RA from individual faculty members on aresearch grant or in the form of a TA from DSC. To receive summer support, a student shouldbe on campus during the time of his/her appointment unless approved by the student’s majorprofessor; if the student has not chosen a major professor, then the departmental AssociateChair for Graduate Studies should be contacted for approval.

6.4 Fellowships

The University offers several fellowships for students including fellowships especially for stu-dents in under-represented groups. The interested individual should check the FSU websitehttp://gradstudies.fsu.edu//fellowships.html for details.

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6.5 Health Insurance

Effective Fall 2007, health insurance is mandatory for all new graduate students. The studentshould check the Graduate School websites for details concerning this requirement.

7 Registration

The standard course load per semester during the academic year is 9-12 credits for a full-timestudents. Courses should be chosen in consultation with the major professor and/or the AssociateChair for Graduate Studies. The student should notify the staff Graduate Administrator of thetotal number of hours he/she registers for so that the appropriate tuition waiver can be entered.Students must be full time to receive a tuition waiver. Students are responsible for meeting thedeadlines imposed by the FSU Registrar’s Office for timely registration to avoid late registrationfees.

8 Evaluations

Evaluations are an integral part of the assessment of the student’s progress towards the degreeas well as the satisfactory completion of his/her graduate assistantship duties. In the follow-ing sections we describe the annual review process and outline the criteria that the GraduateCommittee will use to assess the student’s progress.

8.1 Annual Progress Evaluations

Every spring semester the student is required to complete a Graduate Student Activities Reportin conjunction with his/her major professor; in addition, the supervisor for the student’s TA willbe asked to assess the student’s performance of his/her assistantship duties. If the student hasnot chosen a major professor at the time he/she is completing this report, then the departmentalAssociate Chair for Graduate Studies. will serve the role of the advisor or appoint anotherfaculty member to serve as the student’s temporary advisor. The Graduate Committee uses thisinformation to assess progress and make recommendations to the Chair for financial supportfor the next academic year. The student and his/her advisor will be notified in writing of theCommittee’s assessment. Typically students are rated as making satisfactory or unsatisfactoryprogress towards the degree. In addition, the Committee may include requirements for thestudent to meet in the upcoming year to continue to make satisfactory progress. For example,the student may be told that he/she needs to pass a preliminary examination within the nextacademic year to continue to make satisfactory progress.

8.2 Satisfactory Progress Towards the Degree

The Graduate Committee will use the following criteria as general guidelines for a studentmaking satisfactory progress toward the degree. In addition to these criteria, if appropriate, theCommittee will use the assessment of the student’s research accomplishments by his/her majorprofessor included in the student’s activities report.

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8.2.1 Students in Master’s Programs

Students entering the graduate program with an undergraduate degree should complete allrequirements for the M.S. degree within two years. Under special circumstances, a student andhis/her advisor may request an additional semester of support.

First year students should:

• choose a major professor;

• complete a POS and have the form on file;

• work towards satisfying the course requirements outline in this document;

• maintain a minimum average GPA of 3.0 on all coursework;

• be actively attending the introductory seminar, ISC 5934;

• have selected a summer internship if in the PSM program;

• be fulfilling assistantship duties in a satisfactory manner.

Second year students should:

• complete the course requirements outline in this document;

• continue to maintain a minimum average GPA of 3.0 on all coursework;

• complete 6 credits of thesis if choosing the thesis option;

• successfully complete project or thesis;

• be fulfilling assistantship duties in a satisfactory manner.

As described in Section 3.2, students in the M.S. program who desire to switch to thePh.D. program should pass the preliminary examination by the end of their second year in theM.S. program.

8.2.2 Ph.D. Students

Students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.S. degree or transferring from the M.S. programin computational science should typically complete the Ph.D. in three to four years. Under specialcircumstances, a student and his/her advisor may request an additional semester of support.

General criteria:

• Students who have been admitted directly into the Ph.D. program (without passing thepreliminary examination) must pass the exam by the end of their second year; this meansthat students should first attempt the exam by the end of the Fall Semester of their secondyear in the Ph.D. program.

• Students should be making progress towards satisfying the course requirements outlinedin this document and maintaining an average GPA of 3.2.

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• As early as possible, and no later than the beginning of the third semester, Ph.D. studentsshould choose a major advisor and complete a POS.

• The prospectus must be completed within a year of passing the preliminary examination.

• After a student has passed the preliminary examination and completed the prospectus,then his/her evaluation will be primarily based upon the major professor’s assessment ofthe student’s research progress and the successful completion of assistantship duties.

• The student should be fulfilling his/her assistantship duties in a satisfactory manner.

8.3 Appeals

The student may appeal a grade that he/she feels has been inequitably awarded. See theGraduate Bulletin for the Grade Appeals System.

The student has the right to appeal any decision made by his/her Preliminary ExaminationCommittee or Supervisory Committee to the DSC Graduate Committee. This appeal should bedone in a timely fashion, preferably within two weeks of the action/decision. The studentshould prepare a written apeal document which must contain (i) a description of the actionor decision, including dates and individuals involved, and (ii) a statement of the resolutionsought with justification. The appeal document should be given to the Associate Chair forGraduate Studies who will arrange for a meeting of the Graduate Committee; the Committeemust meet concerning this appeal within one week if the appeal is made within the academicyear. Confidentiality should be exercised during the entire appeals process. A student will notsuffer a punitive action or decision for having pursued an appeal.

9 English Competency

The DSC is responsible for ensuring that international students achieve competency in spokenEnglish sufficient to communicate as a scientist and to participate in quality instruction whenserving as a Teaching Assistant. International students must demonstrate competency in spokenEnglish. Exceptions to this are international students from English speaking countries or foreignstudents with an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution.

International students should register for the course “Spoken English for InternationalTAs” until they pass the SPEAK test administered by the University. Students with exceptionalconversational English experience may be recommended for immediate testing or be exemptedfrom this requirement by the departmental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.

10 Graduation

It is recommended that the semester prior to graduation, the student check with the depart-mental Associate Chair for Graduate Studies to verify that his/her transcript indicates that allcourse requirements, seminar requirements, thesis/dissertation hour requirements, residency re-quirements, etc. have been satisfied. This way any deficiencies can be remedied in the finalsemester.

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The FSU Office of Graduate Studies has rigid deadlines that must be met for applyingfor graduation and for electronic submission of a thesis or dissertation. The student should becognizant of the deadlines and due dates imposed by that office; a checklist can be found at TheGraduate School’s Blackboard sites under the “Theses, Treatises, Dissertations” submenu. It ishighly recommended that each student attend a workshop sponsored by the Graduate Schoolthe semester before they play to graduate.

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